Rudolf Steiner and initiation
Rudolf Steiner is most known for his founding of anthroposophy and spiritual science as a knowledge stream. A set of key books and a vast body of lecture materials provides a foundation not only for the core of spiritual science but also many application areas.
However he also wrote and lectured about Initiation, from an evolutionary and historical perspective (see Mystery School tradition and Greek mysteries) as well as from a spiritual scientific 'technical' perspective (see initiation exercises), that is: to explain to what and how and why of initiation and knowledge of the higher worlds
Besides his public lecturing, and lecturing to members of the society, he also lectured to small groups of selected individuals in the so-called Esoteric School and Lessons (re the volumes GA264-266), and gave rosecrucian initiation guidance and exercises on an individual basis (re GA267)
Aspects
practice and exercises
- the main guidance and practical exercises, ao the six basic exercises (to be found in GA010 and GA013)
- preparatory exercises: faculty of discrimination in thoughts (between truth and appearance or opinion), correct estimation of what is true and real versus what is apparent, practice of six qualities, love of inner freedom (longing for liberation)
- six basic exercises:
- 1 - Practicing self-control over one's thinking.
- 2 - Development of initiative - recurrent willing
- 3 - Equanimity - quiet reactive emotions.
- 4 - Positivity. See the positive aspects of everything, and make the best out of every situation.
- 5 - Open-mindedness. Be open to new experiences and ideas
- 6 - Harmony between the above five
- additional exercises
- retrospect exercise - remembering the daily experiences not in the chronologically but in reverse order
- mantras and meditations (eg GA267, see also Meditation texts)
- Karma exercises
explanations - spiritual and historical
- explanatory descriptions of initiation, meditation and concentration, the guardians of the threshold, clairvoyance, etc (throughout the GA) - see also coverage on initiation exercises
- historical and evolutionary perspective on initiation through the ages, from the ancient Mysteries (see Mystery School tradition), the different grades and rituals (throughout the GA)
- contemporary paths and their comparison, the yoga, christian, rosecrucian paths (throughout the GA, see Schema FMC00.322)
organizational initiatives
- on Rudolf Steiner's early work to establish a symbolic ritual stream within the theosophical society, see GA265 on freemasonry and the Misraim service. The context of this stream he connected to is sketched on Helena Blavatsky#3 - Rite of Misraim
- School of Spiritual Science and Foundation Stone, see:
Illustrations
Schema FMC00.322: provides a synthetic comparison between the eastern yogic, the christian gnostic, and the rosecrucian initiation paths (click to enlarge).
Rudolf Steiner stressed that the first two are not really suited any more to the current cultural age of the consciousness soul, and his teachings focused on the rosecrucian path.
Lecture coverage and references
Overview
Foundation
- Knowledge of Higher Worlds (GA010)
- Outline of Esoteric Science (GA013)
as well as
- Stages of Higher Knowledge (GA012)
- The Way of Self Knowledge and The Threshold of the Spiritual World (GA016/017)
There are also many lectures and lecture cycles, eg:
- The effects of esoteric development (1913-GA145)
- three paths of initiation (Eastern, a Christian, and a Rosicrucian): Leipzig on July 10, 1906 and Stuttgart on September 3 and 4, 1906; as well as Basel on 19-Sep and Berlin on 20 and 21 Oct.
Esoteric school
- On the History and the Contents of the First Section of the Esoteric School from 1904 to 1914 (GA264)
- Guidance In Esoteric Training: From the Esoteric School (GA042/245)
.
- The Misraim Service: Freemasonry and Ritual Work (GA 265), see also Helena Blavatsky#3 - Rite of Misraim
.
- Esoteric Lessons - GA266
- 1904-1909 (GA 266/1)
- 1910-1912 (GA266/2)
- 1913-1923 (GA266/3)
- Soul exercices (GA267)
- Soul exercises II - mantras (GA268)
First class
- First Class materials are in GA 241, GA242 and GA245
- Esoteric Lessons for the First Class (GA241)
- The First Class Lessons and Mantras: The Michael School Meditative Path in Nineteen Steps (GA270/1 to 4)
- 19 lessons between 1924-02-15 and 1924-08-02
- The First Class of the Michael School: Recapitulation Lessons and Mantras
- individual lessons between 1924-04-03 and 1924-09-20
See also: Meditation texts
Lecture extracts
1906-06-06-GA094
shows the link with the six basic exercises
The lotus-flower with sixteen petals lies in the region of the larynx. In very ancient times this lotus-flower turned from right to left — that is to say in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock. In the man of today, this lotus-flower has ceased to turn. In the clairvoyant seer it begins to move in the opposite direction — from left to right. In earlier times, eight of the sixteen petals were visible, the others undeveloped. In future ages they will all be visible, for the first eight are the result of the action of unconscious initiation, the other eight of the conscious initiation attained by dint of personal effort. The eight new petals correspond to the Beatitudes of Christ.
..
The lotus-flower with twelve petals is situated in the region of the heart. In earlier times, six petals only were visible. The acquisition of six virtues will develop the other six in times to come. These six virtues are: control of thought, power of initiative, balance of the faculties, optimism which enables a man always to see the positive side of things, freedom from prejudice, and finally, harmony in the life of soul. When these virtues have been acquired, the twelve petals begin to move.
Ita Wegman
from 'Man's inner developmental path in its context with the healing arts' (p. 216)
The modern initiation is ... in the retrospect exercise,
by remembering the daily experiences not in the naturally given perspective direction from morning to evening, but in reverse order. By starting with the last experience and tracing the daily experiences backward to the awakening-experience on the day in question, the series of experiences you want to bring to consciousness, you lift the will from memory as well as in the old initiation from the body.
The bearer of memories is the etheric body. The modern initiator pulls out the will from him and thus avoids the previously caused shock. Instead of fear, now love, devotion-activity, steps in to what at first seems foreign and unusual, which is completely resisting to one's own being. But when he willingly devotes himself to this selfless direction, to the transformation of self-will into selfless devotion, the modern devotee gains intuition. She actually makes transparent the will that otherwise dark and unconsciously lurks in the depths of physicality. She carries the bright light of thought through the living organism. She makes the physical-Irdic transparent and thus reveals the secrets of destiny, which as objective will is revealed only to those who have overcome their subjective will.
Discussion
Christian initiation
Reflection on the side:
The Christian initiation (described as a process and as a whole) resonates with a technique such as what Draja Mickaharic called Vicarious Visualization (in 'Gaining life experience'); also Franz Bardon describes the training of the capability of imagination in steps 2 and 3 of 'Initiation into Hermetics'.
The Christian initiation is like a very focused practice of magical imagination leading to realisation in the astral, etheric and physical domains.
Related pages
References and further reading
- Fred Poeppig (1900-1974)
- Yoga oder Meditation (1953, 1965)
- Stufen auf dem Wege zum Geist (1963)
- Wege zu einem meditativen Leben (1968, 1993)
- Die gestaltende Kraft der Meditation (1993)
- Massimo Scaligero - PDF books freely downloadable
- 'A Practical Manual of Meditation' (2015 in EN, original 1973 in IT 'Manuale pratico della meditazione')
- 'Techniques of Inner concentration' (original in IT in 1975 as 'Tecniche di concentrazione interiore')
- 'A Treatise on Living Thinking' (2015 in EN, original 1961 in IT as: 'Trattato del pensiero vivente. Una Via oltre le filosofie occidentali, oltre lo Yoga, oltre lo Zen', in 1993 in DE as 'Traktat über das lebende Denken. Ein Weg zur Überwindung der abendländischen Philosophien, des Yoga und des Zen')
- 'Meditazione e miracolo' (1977)
- Georg Kuehlewind
- 'The Light of the 'I': Guidelines for Meditation' (2008 in EN)
- 'The Gentle Will: Meditative Guidelines for Creative Consciousness' (2011)
- 'Stages of Consciousness: Meditations on the Boundaries of the Soul' (in DE as 'Bewusstseinsstufen: Meditationen über die Grenzen der Seele')
- Paul Eugen Schiller
- 'Rudolf Steiner and iniation - The Anthroposophical Path of Inner Schooling: A Survey' (1990 in EN, original 1979 in DE as 'Der anthroposophische Schulungsweg, Ein Überblick')
- Jörgen Smit
- Spiritual Development: Meditation in Daily Life (1996)
- How to transform thinking, feeling and willing: practical exercises for the training of thinking, feeling, willing (1998)
- Meditation, Transforming our lives for the Encounter with Christ (2007 in EN)
- Esoteric lessons contains links to the books as well as an overview of meditations
- Rudolf Steiner and Christopher Bamford (editor): 'Start Now - a book of soul and spiritual exercises' (2004)
- Maria Sam: 'Seelenübungen des Willens. Rückschau und Selbsterziehung auf dem anthroposophischen Schulungsweg' (2010)
- Lisa Romero: 'The inner work path' (2014)
- Torin M. Finser: 'Guided Self-study' - Rudolf Steiner’s Path of Spiritual Development: A Spiritual-Scientific Workbook (2015)
- Conrad Rehbach: Meditation and Initiation (2017)
- Mark Willan: A set of keys
- Guidance on meditation exercices from a lifelong practitioner, inspired on Rudolf Steiner
Dornach School of Spiritual Science
- Johannes Kiersch: 'A History of the School of Spiritual Science - The First Class' (2006)
- Johannes Kühl, Bodo v Plato: 'The School of Spiritual Science: An Orientation and Introduction' (2010)
- Günter Röschert: Das freie Erkenntnisgespräch als umgekehrter Kultus: Das Existenzproblem der Freien Hochschule (2010)
- Elisabeth Wutte / Günter Röschert (editors, 23 authors): Perspektiven freier Hochschularbeit (2019)
The Foundation Stone
- Rudolf Steiner
- The Foundation Stone Meditation: see GA260
- The Christmas Conference for the Foundation of the General Anthroposophical Society 1923-1924
- Valentin Tomberg Studies on the Foundation Stone Meditation
- published in critical years of world history (1936-1939), were written just a few years after Tomberg's spiritual awakening. They penetrate into the Mystery of Christs Second Coming by offering the reader access from within to the Foundation Stone meditation given to humanity by Christ through Rudolf Steiner. More info here.
- Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven: The Foundation Stone (2002 in EN, original in DE as 'Der Grundstein' (1956) and translated in NL as 'De grondsteen' (1977, 1989)
- analysis of the text by Rudolf Steiner on the day of the laying of the foundation stone for the new anthroposophical society in 1923.
- Bernard Lievegoed: 'Besinnung auf den Grundstein' (1989, original in NL 1987 as 'Bezinning op de grondsteen')
- Mark Willan: 'Dornach: The centre for spiritual science?' (2001 with update 2006)
- Peter Selg: 'Rudolf Steiner's Foundation Stone Meditation: And the Destruction of the Twentieth Century (EN in 2013)
- Bill Trusiewicz: 'The Foundation Stone Meditation as the Being of Isis/Sophia: Some Results from Working with the Foundation Stone Meditation' (published 2017 in Starlight Journal of the Sophia Foundation; and Being Human, see online here)
- Adriana Koulias: 'The Foundation Stone Meditation: as a protection against evil' (2019)
- The Foundation Stone Meditation and the Challenges of Our Time (2021)
- editors: Arie van Amerigen, Christiane Haid
- fourteen contributions, for list of essays, see contents here
and
- Sergei O. Prokofieff:
- Rudolf Steiner and the Founding of the New Mysteries (1994)
- Foundation Stone Meditation: A Key to the Christian Mysteries (2006)
- Relating to Rudolf Steiner: And the Mystery of the Laying of the Foundation Stone (2008)
